About Us
Jefferson County Community Ships for Youth Incorporated is a community-based, 501 (c) (3) non-profit collaboration established in 2007 as a way to advocate, collaborate and share resources to serve Youth and families in Jefferson county.
Using data collected locally, the collaborative provides education and support to populations of focus: Kinship families are raising children that are not their own and first offenders who have committed non-violent crimes. and fy26 we will add a focus on the developing language skills for children ages 0 to 5. These programs seek to provide information and support that will build resiliency, reduce recidivism rates, increase employment, and strengthen families so our community thrives.
As a result of SHIPS’ collaborative efforts to assure that children are safe, healthy, and successful in school; we implement services, programs, and projects that enable us to address the following identified strategies:
Health and school readiness:
- Kinship Caregiver Cohort – Senior Help In Parenting Support (SHIPS) project offer a comprehensive array of support services to grandparents and other kinship caregivers with information, skills, and resources designed to enhance their ability to provide effective care for the young relatives they are parenting. Services are designed to:
Promote permanency and child well-being by supporting early and stable relative/kinship placements to prevent children from coming into or re-entering foster care
• Increase caregiver capacity and improve family functioning
• Support the educational, physical, and mental health of children
• Support the physical and mental health of caregivers
• Increase access to and utilization of community-based supports and services - Community Back to School Event – This is a community event to provide supplies children need to reenter the school year with the necessary supplies and equipment. Community services agencies introduce parents to resources within their own community.
Family Functioning:
- Naloxone Implementation – Overdose reversal drug kits and training provided to Schools within Jefferson County
- Resilient Teen- This program enables teens to develop mechanisms for protection against experiences which could be overwhelming, it helps them to maintain balance in their lives during difficult or stressful periods, and can also protect them from the development of some mental health difficulties and issues.
- Community Conversations on race and equity – Race, equity, and inclusion training for collaborative members and staff, utilizing REI facilitators.
- Kinship-Kinship Family services offer a comprehensive array of support services to grandparents and other kinship caregivers with information, skills, and resources designed to enhance their ability to provide effective care for the young relatives they are parenting.
- First Offenders Program – The program provides first offenders with education and life skills, enabling them to manage anger and abstain from substance abuse to avoid the consequences of a criminal record.
- Early Language and Literacy– The basics toolkit curriculum will be implemented in daycare centers and the public library to teach parents how to help their children develop language skills.
- Apex Mental Health Counseling- School based Mental Health Services and support provided to Children and Families of Jefferson County.
- Trunk- A – Treat– community-wide distribution Such as health, education, safety, and other information is distributed to families annually in October.
- Annual Christmas Toy Drive– Assist families who are in need of food and holiday gifts for children during the Christmas holidays.
- Community Presentations– Annual community presentations to bring awareness of programs and services offered.
About Georgia Family Connection
Georgia Family Connection is the only statewide network of its kind in the country with partners in all 159 counties working toward measurably better outcomes for our children, families, and communities. This gives us a unique vantage point—not only to see the big picture—but also to operate effectively at a local level.
We disentangle the mess of barriers, service gaps, and inefficiencies obscuring progress for our most vulnerable families. We do that by connecting our partners to resources, helping coordinate and manage efforts, and empowering our communities to craft local solutions based on local decisions.
Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP) represents and promotes Georgia Family Connection’s work, provides expertise in planning and governance, administers the state-appropriated funds for the local Collaboratives, sets standards of excellence, and helps Collaboratives evaluate their progress.
The state’s designated KIDS COUNT grantee, GaFCP also provides state agencies and policymakers with current, reliable data they need to inform decisions about improving conditions for the communities they serve.
Our Work
At Georgia Family Connection, we work to ensure that all children are healthy, primed for school, and succeed when they get there; families are stable, self-sufficient, and productive; and communities are vibrant, robust, and thriving.
None of these result areas stand in isolation. They overlap. By collaborating across sectors to address them, we nurture children and families who thrive in vibrant communities—everywhere. Because we work toward measurably better outcomes for everyone.
